Sacred Books of the East eBook

maiden who has long gone childless and wants a good
husband. He who would till the earth, O Spitama
Zarathustra! with the left arm and the right, with
the right arm and the left, unto him will she bring
forth plenty of fruit: even as it were a lover
sleeping with his bride on her bed; the bride will
bring forth children, the earth will bring forth plenty
of fruit. He who would till the earth, O Spitama
Zarathustra! with the left arm and the right, with
the right arm and the left, unto him thus says the
Earth: ’O thou man! who dost till me with
the left arm and the right, with the right arm and
the left, here shall I ever go on bearing, bringing
forth all manner of food, bringing corn first to thee.’
He who does not till the Earth, O Spitama Zarathustra!
with the left arm and the right, with the right arm
and the left, unto him thus says the Earth: ’O
thou man! who dost not till me with the left arm and
the right, with the right arm and the left, ever shalt
thou stand at the door of the stranger, among those
who beg for bread; the refuse and the crumbs of the
bread are brought unto thee, brought by those who
have profusion of wealth.’”

O maker of the material world, thou Holy One!
What is the food that fills the Religion of Mazda?

Ahura Mazda answered:—­

“It is sowing corn again and again, O Spitama
Zarathustra! He who sows corn, sows righteousness:
he makes the Religion of Mazda walk, he suckles the
Religion of Mazda; as well as he could do with a hundred
man’s feet, with a thousand woman’s breasts,
with ten thousand sacrificial formulas. When
barley was created, the Devas started up; when it
grew, then fainted the Devas’ hearts; when the
knots came, the Devas groaned; when the ear came,
the Devas flew away. In that house the Devas
stay, wherein wheat perishes. It is as though
red hot iron were turned about in their throats, when
there is plenty of corn. Then let people learn
by heart this holy saying: ’No one who does
not eat, has strength to do heavy works of holiness,
strength to do works of husbandry, strength to beget
children. By eating every material creature lives,
by not eating it dies away.’”

O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One!
Who is the fifth that rejoices the Earth with greatest
joy?

Ahura Mazda answered:—­

“It is he who kindly and piously gives to one
of the faithful who tills the earth, O Spitama Zarathustra!
He who would not kindly and piously give to one of
the faithful who tills the earth, O Spitama Zarathustra!
Spenta Armaiti will throw him down into darkness, down
into the world of woe, the world of hell, down into
the deep abyss.”

O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One!
If a man shall bury in the earth either the corpse
of a dog or the corpse of a man, and if he shall not
disinter it within half a year, what is the penalty
that he shall pay?

Ahura Mazda answered:—­

“Five hundred stripes with the Aspahe-astra,
five hundred stripes with the Sraosho-karana.”